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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26744668">Please Don’t Take Me at This Stage</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/HardyGal/pseuds/HardyGal'>HardyGal</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>HardyGal Attempts Whumptober (2020) [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 4, Persona Series</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(I just have what it takes to hurt him lol), (Very brief), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crime Scenes, Do you really think I would have what it takes to kill my favourite character?, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Guys there is not enough whump for Yu, Hanging, Narukami Yu Whump, No of course not!, Persona 4 Protagonist Whump, Seta Souji Whump, THIS IS NOT A CHARACTER DEATH FIC, Temporary Character Death, Uncle-Nephew Relationship, Whump, Whumptober, Whumptober 2020</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:21:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,701</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26744668</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/HardyGal/pseuds/HardyGal</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>As long as the case dragged on, Dojima knew he always needed to be prepared for the possibility of another body showing up. But nothing could have prepared him for this...</p><p>Yu Narukami’s body is discovered hanging from the electrical wires at the edge of the shopping district.</p><p>(Potential prequel: <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26833729"> Longs For Sun and Lays in the Dark</a>)</p><p>—</p><p>Whumptober 2020 Day 1: <b>Let’s Hang Out Sometime | Hanging<b></b></b></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dojima Ryotaro &amp; Narukami Yu, Dojima Ryotaro &amp; Persona 4 Protagonist, Dojima Ryotaro &amp; Seta Souji</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>HardyGal Attempts Whumptober (2020) [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946908</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>117</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Whumptober 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Please Don’t Take Me at This Stage</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was with a sick feeling of resignation that Dojima received the report that a body had been discovered hanging from the electrical wires at the outskirts of the shopping district. With how little progress he had been making in the serial killing case, it’s as though some part of him had been <em> waiting </em> for another body to show up, to remind him of how useless his efforts were proving to be.</p><p>“I’ll be there as soon as possible,” Dojima murmured.</p><p>Flicking his phone shut, Dojima robotically went about getting out of bed. He ended up skipping the coffee and was in his car, driving towards the scene, within five minutes. It wasn’t until he pulled up outside the slowly forming crowd of early morning civilians that he wondered if he should have made sure that Nanako would be safe on her way to school today.</p><p>Well, Yu always accompanied her partway while on his own school route. That boy really was a blessing that Dojima did not deserve. Nanako would be fine, as always. They both would.</p><p>Dojima quickly nudged his way through the crowd. It looked like Adachi was already there, surprisingly enough, conversing confidentially with a few officers. Since when had that man been so on top of things?</p><p>“Hey!” Dojima called as he approached.</p><p>The whole group immediately turned towards him, each of them looking rather alarmed.</p><p>“Have we identified the body yet?” he asked, already pulling out a cigarette in preparation for when he stepped away from all of this.</p><p>“Dojima…!”</p><p>Adachi rushed to meet him, looking strangely panicked. As he prepared to ask what the hell Adachi’s problem was, Dojima looked up at the body.</p><p>The cigarette fell from his mouth. Dojima felt something inside him <em> crack </em> . Denial rushed to fill it, screaming that this <em> could not possibly be real </em> , that he <em> must be seeing things </em>. But there was no denying it.</p><p>That was <em> Yu’s body </em> hanging up there.</p><p>That was <em> his nephew </em> tangled up in the electrical wires.</p><p>That was his <em> sister’s child </em>, the boy he had promised to look after, the boy he had grown to love like his own son–</p><p>“What... the hell…?”</p><p>“Dojima,” Adachi said nervously, hands raised to turn the older detective away. “You shouldn’t be here–”</p><p>Dojima shoved him aside and rushed forward.</p><p>“Ow! Wait! Dojima!”</p><p>Adachi’s protests barely even registered in Dojima’s ears. He could not tear his eyes away from the sight of his nephew hanging above him, limp, unmoving. The officers that Adachi had been speaking to earlier hurried to intercept him, finally forcing Dojima to turn his gaze downward.</p><p>“What the hell happened?” Dojima demanded dangerously.</p><p>“Sir,” one of the officers started, “I don’t think–”</p><p>“I asked what the hell happened?!” Dojima snapped.</p><p>Adachi caught up to him, grabbing at his shoulder. “Dojima, wait…!”</p><p>“‘Wait’?! That’s <em> my nephew </em> up there!”</p><p>“I know! That’s the problem!” Adachi retorted as he struggled to pull Dojima away. “Listen, we know just as much as you do, but you have to step back…!”</p><p>“I will <em> not </em> step back, that’s my nephew!”</p><p>Throughout his time as a detective, Dojima had occasionally needed to hold back grieving friends or family members as their loved one was either retrieved or, under far more tragic circumstances, processed. It was an unpleasant task, often filled with screaming and tears, but it was a part of the job.</p><p>And then Chisato died, and Dojima <em> understood </em> - the lack of rationale, the grief, the <em> desperation </em> driving these people to their loved one’s side, as though <em> somehow </em>, by some crazy miracle, that could make everything better.</p><p>Dojima had felt it then and he felt it now as he fought against his partner’s hold. “Dammit, Adachi, let go!”</p><p>“I’m sorry, but I can’t!” Adachi shouted.</p><p>The officers present also began their attempts to hold him back. “Detective Dojima, please…!”</p><p>Dojima looked up again. He could make out Yu’s face now. The eyes were closed, facial features slack. It almost looked like the kid was sleeping. Dojima stopped fighting against Adachi and the officers. He could feel something inside him <em> crack </em> a little bit more.</p><p>Oh, god. What was he going to tell his sister…? What was he going to tell Nanako?</p><p>Dojima lowered his head.</p><p>Then, a shallow gasp, followed by a series of hoarse coughs. A few people in the crowd, now well formed outside the police perimeter, screamed and cried out. Dojima, along with Adachi and the officers, looked up in shock.</p><p>“Oh my god,” one of the officers gasped. “He’s alive!”</p><p>“He’s alive!” someone else echoed. “Someone get the fire department, we need to get him down <em> now </em>!”</p><p>Dojima could only stare. Just moments ago he had been struggling to believe that his nephew was really dead. Now, he could hardly believe his eyes as he watched that same nephew shake and cough before slowly opening his own eyes. The soft grey gaze was glazed and unfocused, and he appeared to be having trouble breathing, but there was no doubt.</p><p>Yu was <em> alive </em>.</p><p>“Holy <em> shit </em>…!” Adachi exclaimed. He began to tug at Dojima’s shoulder again, though less urgently than he had before. “Dojima, come on, we should probably step back–”</p><p>Yu groaned and started to stir in his precarious position. Dojima’s eyes widened.</p><p>“Yu, stop!” he shouted. To his relief, Yu did stop for a moment, looking no more aware of his surroundings but at least no longer moving.</p><p>“Listen to me,” Dojima continued urgently, choosing to ignore just how vulnerable he sounded. “You have to stay still, all right? We’ll get you down as soon as possible, but you <em> have </em> to stay still!”</p><p>He had no clue if any of his words were actually reaching the kid. Yu had stopped moving, but his eyes remained unfocused, and it looked like his breathing had picked up slightly. The breaths came out hoarse and halting. Dojima’s mind rushed with all the worst possibilities, and he turned to grab Adachi by the jacket.</p><p>“Has an ambulance been called?” he demanded.</p><p>“Y-Yes…!” Adachi confirmed. “They’ll be here soon, along with the fire department.”</p><p>The crowd was really starting to get riled up. No one was attempting to bypass the perimeter, thank god - they <em> really </em> did not have the manpower to hold back everyone - but they were all definitely excited. People talked to each other and shouted questions at the guarding officers. Those with photo capable cells were putting their equipment to use, and everyone was focused on the student who seemed to have just come back to life.</p><p>The area was buzzing with noise, but Dojima still managed to catch the groan that had him looking back up quickly. He cursed.</p><p>Yu’s breathing had not just picked up because he was struggling to intake oxygen, no, it was clear the kid was getting agitated. He began to stir again, legs and arm shifting in the tangle of electrical wires.</p><p>“Yu, stop!” Dojima shouted again.</p><p>There was no clear response this time. The crowd continued to buzz, and Dojima could hear the rapidly approaching sirens. Yu clenched his eyes shut with a gutteral whine, just as both the ambulance and fire department rolled in.</p><p>“Yu, listen to me!” Dojima called. “We’re getting you down! Just stay still!”</p><p>Adachi finally pulled him back, and this time, Dojima didn’t fight him.</p><p>The fire department worked quickly, sending up the ladder and one of their men to retrieve the student caught in the wires. Despite Dojima’s words, Yu still appeared deeply distressed, flinching when the fireman attempted to steady him. Dojima clenched his fists.</p><p>Dammit… Why Yu, of all people…?</p><p>The fireman was patient, speaking calmly and steadily to the agitated teen. Whatever he said must have gotten through at least a little, as Yu calmed down just enough to allow the man to pull him from the electrical wires. Dojima wondered how his nephew could be so tall and yet look so small as he was brought back down over the fireman’s shoulder.</p><p>Yu was quickly handed off to the ambulance crew, and Dojima rushed to his side.</p><p>“Yu…!”</p><p>God, he looked <em> fine </em>. Just like the first two victims, there wasn’t a mark on him. He was still wearing the same after-school clothes Dojima had seen him leave the house in yesterday morning. But the quick and shallow breathing, the way his eyes, more focused but still just as dazed, darted between the surrounding medical personnel like a hunted animal…</p><p>“Yu,” Dojima said again, the name coming out breathless.</p><p>Yu immediately turned his gaze towards him. “...Uncle…?” he whispered hoarsely.</p><p>“I’m here.” It was all Dojima could do not to laugh, or maybe even cry in relief. “Don’t worry, we got you.”</p><p>The grey haired teen did not appear to respond at first. He lifted his hand off the stretcher and grabbed blindly until his fingers snagged the sleeve of Dojima’s coat. It was like Dojima could actually see a light return to the kid’s eyes. A strange, cracked sound left Yu’s lips, and he tightened his grip on Dojima’s sleeve.</p><p>“Yu?” Dojima said in concern.</p><p>The one spoken to just closed his eyes, letting out that same cracked sound. It took Dojima a moment to realize that Yu was <em> laughing </em> , a weak but desperately happy, or perhaps desperately <em> relieved </em> sound that made his body tremble.</p><p>“Sir…?” one of the medical personnel spoke up hesitantly.</p><p>The laughter petered off, and Yu opened his eyes with a small smile. “Sorry,” he whispered. “Just kinda tired, is all…”</p><p>Dojima could not help but notice the tears pricking at the corners of the kid’s eyes.</p><p>“Detective Dojima…” The same medic looked at Dojima expectantly.</p><p>“He’s my nephew,” Dojima explained. “I’m coming with him.”</p><p>The medic nodded, and she and her partner began the process of loading the stretcher into the ambulance. Yu’s hand fell away from Dojima’s coat as he was wheeled away, and as soon as they were both in the ambulance, Dojima leant down to grip the fallen hand in his own.</p><p>“I got you,” Dojima murmured.</p><p>Yu looked up at him, a bit of surprise showing through the weariness. He smiled again, and Dojima felt his nephew return the grip. “Thank you…”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>My first Persona fanfiction, and I basically just killed my favourite character. Figures.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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